What does it feel like to be in desperate need of the rescue helicopter? Alex Anfilets and Simon Broekhuizen found out last month when their kayak flipped at the mouth of the Taieri River. This week, they talked to Bruce Munro about their ordeal and the moment Mr Anfilets was finally sure the helicopter crew had spotted them.
It is when two boats leave without rescuing them that Alex Anfilets thinks he and his friend will die in the water.
This time last month, Mr Anfilets (26), of Belarus, and his friend Simon Broekhuizen (29), of Balclutha, had enjoyed a morning kayak down the Taieri River from Lake Waihola.
When they reached the sea, the Balclutha farm workers then decide on the spur of the moment to cross the treacherous Taieri Mouth bar.
They make it. Then as they try to turn the double kayak back towards land it is swamped and capsizes. It is 1pm.
Mr Anfilets feels shock as he plunges into the bitterly cold Pacific Ocean. His immediate focus, however, is making it back to the overturned kayak floating about 5m away.
He and Mr Broekhuizen are both wearing life jackets and can cling on, but they cannot right the kayak.
At one point, Mr Anfilets attempts to swim to the shore. But he swims back to the kayak when he realises it is unstable with only one person holding on to it.
Back on land, Mr Broekhuizen's wife Miriam raises the alarm about 2pm after seeing no sign of the pair when she arrives at Taieri Mouth to collect them. Police launch a water search.
Floating in the increasingly choppy water south of Taieri Island (Moturata), the two men feel their strength ebbing away as the cold bites.
Mr Broekhuizen's body temperature is dropping dangerously and by 3pm he is losing consciousness.
He spends the next couple of hours drifting in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of their increasingly desperate plight. About 4pm, Mr Anfilets sees two boats nearby.
He frantically holds up a paddle, hoping to catch the boaties' attention.
But they are not spotted, and as the weather worsens, the boats head for shore.
''I was angry,'' he says.
''They were very close to us. I thought they were our last hope.''
By now, Mrs Broekhuizen is praying with family and friends for the men's safe return, fearing she is going to end up a widow.
With a southerly blowing more than 30 knots, the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter is called in.
In deteriorating conditions, and with the kayak mostly submerged, it is going to be difficult to find them.
Mr Anfilets is weak from exertion and hypothermia when he spots the helicopter flying towards them.
''I felt more strength and held up the paddle to signal,'' he says.
But the helicopter flies past. Mr Anfilets can only watch as it circles the island, with no clue they have been seen.
On board the BK117 rescue helicopter, St John senior paramedic Ian Ridley spots the pair and directs pilot Graeme Gale towards them.
With the helicopter hovering above and a paramedic descending on a winch line towards them, Mr Anfilets finally allows himself to believe they will be saved.
Searching for the right words in English, he simply says,''I felt very happy.''
It is 5pm, four hours after their ordeal began.
The rescue helicopter has taken 15 minutes to find them.
Given the conditions, however, they are fortunate to have been found at all.
''It's probably one of the luckier ones [rescues] I've seen for some time.''
Mr Gale says.
Mr Broekhuizen's body temperature has dropped 10degC below normal to 27degC.
Both men spend the night in Dunedin Hospital and are discharged the next day.
Mr Broekhuizen says their story is a graphic illustration of the value of a dedicated local helicopter rescue service.
It was the difference between life and death for him, he says.
